Indonesia wants to develop projects on new energy sources such as nuclear, hydrogen and ammonia to achieve its Net Zero Emissions (NZE) by 2060 or sooner, according to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM).
Vena energy announced 21 MW Lombok Solar Project achieving commercial operation in 2019. Indonesia's solar potential is the highest of all renewable sources.（Photo: Vena Energy）
Yudo Dwinanda Priaadi, the Director General of New and Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation of ESDM, anticipated that by 2060, most of the energy used in the country will be solar energy but it will need batteries to store the energy. He added that Indonesia needs affordable new energy sources that are accessible to everyone.
Southeast Asia's largest economy tries to get a solar power capacity of 2.14 GW by 2030, of which 0.64 GW in households, 0.74 GW in state-owned enterprises, and the rest in industries.
However, as of November 2022, Indonesia only had 6,461 households install rooftop solar energy systems with a total installed capacity of 77.6 MW. That shows a big gap between the current growth rate and the desired goal.
Yudo said that they are serious about building the battery ecosystem and that Indonesia still needs to promote the expansion of the production of power sources like geothermal and hydroelectric power.
To offset shortfalls in intermittent renewable energy, Indonesia plans to build nuclear power plants which might locate at Central Java province and Bangka Belitung. However, the development of these projects faced difficulties due to serious mistakes in design, environmental and financial issues.
Indonesia will hold presidential election in February 2024. The energy policy from 3 prominent candidates is highly focused recently.
The Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, who represents Gerindra and keeps narrow lead in the poll, plans to use renewable energy to fulfill energy self-efficiency, especially in biofuel.
The Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto plans to use renewable energy to fulfill energy self-efficiency.（Photo: Prabowo Subianto）
The former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan, supported by Nasdem, commits to expand access to the global market for palm oil farmers and phase out coal power plants. Ganjar Pranowo, candidate of the ruling Democratic Party of Struggle（PDI-P）targets 30% share of renewable sources in the energy mix by 2029.
